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Review
. 2023 Jan 5;10(1):114.
doi: 10.3390/children10010114.

Skeletal Muscle Measurements in Pediatric Hematology and Oncology: Essential Components to a Comprehensive Assessment

Kelly Rock  1 , Odessa Addison  1 , Vicki L Gray  1 , Robert M Henshaw  2   3   4 , Christopher Ward  5 , Victoria Marchese  1
Affiliations
Review

Skeletal Muscle Measurements in Pediatric Hematology and Oncology: Essential Components to a Comprehensive Assessment

Kelly Rock et al. Children (Basel). .

Abstract

Children with hematologic and oncologic health conditions are at risk of impaired skeletal muscle strength, size, and neuromuscular activation that may limit gross motor performance. A comprehensive assessment of neuromuscular function of these children is essential to identify the trajectory of changes in skeletal muscle and to prescribe therapeutic exercise and monitor its impact. Therefore, this review aims to (a) define fundamental properties of skeletal muscle; (b) highlight methods to quantify muscle strength, size, and neuromuscular activation; (c) describe mechanisms that contribute to muscle strength and gross motor performance in children; (d) recommend clinical assessment measures; and (e) illustrate comprehensive muscle assessment in children using examples of sickle cell disease and musculoskeletal sarcoma.

Keywords: biomechanics; cancer; children; muscle architecture; muscle performance.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Ultrasonography images of the vastus lateralis muscle. (a) static long-axis image identifying muscle thickness, fascicle, and pennation angle; (b) extended-field-of-view short axis image identifying muscle anatomical cross-sectional area; (c) extended-field-of-view long axis image identifying fascicle length and pennation angle.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Assessment techniques to measure muscle performance.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Expected Child–Adult Differences in Skeletal Muscle. The upward arrow includes elements of skeletal muscle that are expected to be increased in children compared to adults. The downward arrow includes elements of skeletal muscle that are expected to be decreased in children compared to adults.
Figure 4
Figure 4
Underlying causes of skeletal muscle impairment in children with sickle cell disease (left), musculoskeletal sarcoma (right), and common causes across both diseases (center).
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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